Weekly GEOINT Community News

Seven Companies Selected to Offer GEOINT Services Through GSA

Seven companies are among the first to offer GEOINT solutions under the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Earth Observations Solutions Special Item Number (SIN) 132-41. The addition of the new SIN is part of a refresh to the GSA’s IT 70 Schedule and is designed to address the federal government’s need for Earth observation services. According to GSA, the companies include Aero Graphics Inc., Airbus Defense and Space, Leidos, Planet, Skyline Software Systems, Vricon, and Wiser.

Raytheon Wins Contract for Global Hawk Sensor

Raytheon received a $25.9 million contract for modifications and retrofitting of sensors on the Global Hawk Block 30 unmanned aerial vehicle. According to UPI, Raytheon will upgrade the Enhanced Integrated Sensor Suite and retrofit the Enhanced Electro-Optical Receiving Unit on Global Hawks.

Harris Supplies Navigation Payload for GPS III Satellite

Harris Corp. delivered the first of 10 advanced navigation payloads to Lockheed Martin. The payloads are intended to increase accuracy, signal power, and jamming resistance for U.S. Air Force GPS III satellites. They feature a mission data unit that enables signals three times more accurate than those on current GPS satellites. According to the Harris press release, the new payloads also boost satellite signal power, increase jamming resistance by eight times, and help extend the satellite’s lifespan. The payload will be integrated into GPS III Space Vehicle 3 this summer.

KeyW Awarded AFRL Airborne ISR Contract

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) awarded KeyW a $24 million contract to conduct research in multi-sensor multi-domain fusion, including radio frequency, electro-optical and infrared sensing, and exploitation for airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). KeyW will support AFRL in extending the body of knowledge in multi-domain sensing for autonomy, and will deliver hardware and software components to provide solutions to the U.S. Air Force’s future air dominance and anti-access/area denial challenges.

Peer Intel

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) named Justin Poole its new deputy director upon the departure of Susan Gordon, who was recently named the new principal deputy director of national intelligence. Poole previously served as director of the agency’s Source Operations and Management Directorate. Having worked at NGA since 1991, Poole has held leadership positions in strategic oversight, business management, customer services, and operations.

Raytheon’s board of directors elected Robert Work as a director. Work was most recently deputy secretary of defense from 2014 to July 2017.

Photo Credit: U.S. Air Force